Wedding Websites

Why you need one and choosing one that is right for you.

My clients often ask me if they really need a personal wedding website. They don't doubt they do, but often seem perplexed by the idea of essentially needing one. I believe their biggest concern is building a website will incur time and maintenance. Once the news of your marriage has been broadcasted, you can expect a ton of questions, phone calls and emails from all the people you've just invited. Your guests will want the details all at once. Hence, why you need a personalized wedding website. A wedding website is going to be one of the most powerful tools you can utilize in the planning process. You will want to share all of your relevant details in a timely manner, but, a website does much more than that. Wedding websites are a fantastic way to communicate with you guests, they share your registries, honeyfunds, day of activities, photos, stories, and most importantly your wedding day information. They are especially resourceful for destination weddings and communicating information, suggesting hotels, and details on your locale.

I have spent a ton of time registering myself on wedding websites and personally trying them out. There are a few different methods of obtaining a wedding website. First, there are free hosted sites that are fantastic. They offer templates for all of your wedding details and some of them are customizable. Many of them offer themes where you can purchase matching paper products. One in particular that is easy to use and is straightforward is www.mywedding.com. Which links to Hello!Lucky, a personal favorite wedding invitation and letterpress company in San Francisco.

Another approach to this is to create a blog. Blogs are a great resource because you can customize them and build them from the ground up. They do take a little more time to perfect. If you are web savvy then it should be a breeze. Blogs are generally free and can be customized by a designer for a fee. Google's blogger is straight forward and very user friendly.

You can also purchase your very own domain name for about $10-15 and have this routed to the site or blog. It could look like "www.yournameandpartnername.com" This will make your site even more personalized and direct. 

The final method of building a wedding website is to contact a designer and have them put together a site for you. This method is my favorite because if you work with the same designer, you can match it to all of your paper products and theme for the wedding. Then when the invitaions are sent out, everything will be uniform, from your invitations, escort cards, programs, to the website.  

Destination Weddings

TulumLOVE 

Recently I flew down to Tulum, a personal favorite place in Mexico. Scouting a wedding is always a joy for me. After this recent excursion, I am more in love with Tulum than any other destination I have worked on yet. Dreamy beaches + ruins,  vibrant eco-chic hotels, and an array of creative minds make it hard not to love. Many of the hotels and restaurants popping up are geared toward being eco-friendly or are locally sourced only. See Playa Azul and Hartwood, for example. Tulum is home to one of the most amazing culinary experiences in Mexico. There is not a chain restaurant even remotely close to this quiet get-away. Nope, no way, no how. Tulum ignited my mexican love affair. 

A few of my favorite things: fresh squeezed watermelon juice at Playa Azul. Swings for barstools and a pool table on the beach at El Bistro at Ziggy Beach. Free salsa lessons on the beach at La Zebra's,  Bikini Bootcamp + Yoga at Amansala, renting bikes around the hotel zone, and wind surfing in front of the Om Hotel. Perfect for a laid back romantic getaway, also great for the adventure seeker. Day trip ready? Try diving, rescuing baby sea turtles, or wind surfing. Cenotes are plentiful and the ruins of Coba and Chichen Itza make great day adventures.

Scouting Trip

Madrid, Spain

 Better late that never. Here are a few pictures from my scouting trip to Madrid last April for the wedding in Spain. The bride and I spend almost a week searching for all the right elements to plan her destination wedding. Not only were we site visiting the wedding location, but we also spent time searching the city for all the other events and elements that led up to her wedding. From the rehearsal dinner, a day trip to Segovia, trips to the flower mart, and the locals favorite restaurants in Madrid, we had to sample it all! Enjoy!

Mexico

In a week and a half I am flying down to Mexico to do site inspections and scout hotels and venues. Hooray for beach weddings. I'll be spending the week all over the Mayan Riviera researching Tulum, Playa del Carmel, Cozumel and Cancun. Brushing up on my Spanish is in order too. Happy weekend!

Thailand: The land of smiles

The thought of having a destination wedding on a beach on an island in Thailand makes me giddy inside. Aside from harboring a perfect blue sea, powder sand beaches and tropical weather, Thailand is home to the nicest people in the world. Not to mention, it's dirt cheap. Thailand hosts some stunning resorts too. A few pics from my last trip, enjoy!

Grand Palace, Bangkok

 

Koh Samui

another view of the beach on Koh Samui

Day Spa

Koh Tao

Floating Market

Orchids in Chaing Mai

Offerings to Buddha

Wedding Arbor at the Koh Tao Resort

Koh Tao Resort grounds

Infinty pool at the Koh Tao Resort

Islands surrounding Phuket

Koh Samui waterfalls

Lake Tahoe

Earlier in the year I began planning a wedding for a same sex couple. Choosing the right location and setting was very important to the couple as many of the guests were flying in from the East Coast. Lake Tahoe was high on their list of destinations in California. As we began our first official scouting trips to Lake Tahoe, we all fell in love with the entire lake. Deciding where on the lake became the harder decision. We took a few day trips from San Francisco and a few overnight trips carefully previewing all the potential ceremony and reception sites. A beach ceremony was a must and the reception really needed to "wow" all of the guests. After careful consideration and hours of research, the couple fell in love with the Zephyr Cove and Resort beach for the location of their ceremony. To add the "wow" factor the couple chose to set sail for their reception on board the Tahoe Queen, an authentic Mississippi paddlewheeler.

Zephyr Cove Beach, NV